Long ago, I had a wonderful garden that included a large bed of strawberries. Growing them took planning, patience and work; the ripening berries became a source of satsifaction and excitement. As the saying goes, thought, sometimes you get more than you bargain for. The first year my strawberries produced, I picked one hundred pints of red beauties. We had fresh strawberries on and in everything. I also made jars of jam, froze bags of sliced berries, and gave a lot away. It was too much.
Even when I did not grow my own, I felt obligated to make strawberry shortcake when srawberres were at their peak...as the shortcake baked, it was a fragrant promise of what was to come but, to tell the truth, I never actually liked shortcake. I must have tried seven or eight different shortcake recipes over the years but, nothing ever satisfied me...the finished product always tasted like a big rather soggy, strawberry drenched biscuit. My family did not seem to share my critical taste buds and gobbled down that dessert like it was their favorite...
Today's lo-cal recipe is one that I have revised to make use of fruit no matter the time of year...the little shells are easy to construct...and the rum flavor is delightful and slightly out of the norm. I think the shells would be great filled with strawberries and icecream or strawberries and whipped topping and drizzeld with chocolate...yum.
*Optional fruit selections at end of recipe.
** Two methods for creating the little shells are shown. I actually like method #2 the best...it is easier to fill, and is more crisp...
Diane's Crispy Fruit Shells
2 ripe bananas, sliced
2 clementines, peeled and sectioned
8 strawberries, cut up
2 T water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp rum flavoring
1 T Splenda
6 flour tortillas
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T margarine, melted
Whipped topping
Combine fruit and Splenda. Add water, juice and rum flavoring. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for
1- 2 hours.
Wrap tortillas, 2 at a time, in a towel and microwave 10 seconds. While still warm, brush each side of the tortillas with melted margarine and also sprinkle each side with cinnamon/sugar. Pleat each tortilla on two sides and slip into a custard cup. Place a second custard cup gently in the center of each nested tortilla. Place on baking sheet and bake at 475 degrees for 5 minutes; remove tortillas from cups and place on a baking sheet.
Bake an additional 5 minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Remove tortillas to a wire rack and cool completely.
Place shells on serving plates. Drain fruit and discard liquid. Spoon fruit into shells and add whipped topping. Serve immediately. Yield 6 servings.
Option 2: (Below) Instead of placing shells inside custard cups, turn the cups upside down onto a baking sheet and drape a coated tortilla over each cup. Bake as above. Remove tortilla from cup and let stand for a few minutes until firm. Place shells on baking sheet and return to over for 5 more minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.
Fill as above.
Optional fruit choices: Peaches, honeydew melon, cantelope, pineapple, pears, or plums.
Marian wrote: You are so clever! I would never ever have thought of using the flour tortillas in such a way. They really do look good enough to eat, as do all your culinary triumphs.
ReplyDeleteWow.. what a brilliant idea! Thanks Diane!
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